Alfred Smith, Lt. Col Ret.

Alfred Smith, Lt. Col. Ret. December 12, 1929 - May 1, 2010 Retired Army Lt. Col. Alfred Smith, a career soldier and one of the most decorated in Texas history, died Saturday, May 1, 2010, succumbing at age 80 to respiratory failure with complications from years of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. Services will be 1:00 p.m., Thursday, May 6, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home on Bosque Blvd. Full military honors, with gun salute, will follow at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be 6 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 5, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. Col. Smith served in the Korean campaign and in Vietnam as a Rotary Wing Commander, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Legions of Merit, multiple Bronze Stars with V for Valor in Combat, and many other distinguished medals and honors. He was a paratrooper, a nuclear weapons-qualified Army aviator, and a test pilot for the Army Aviation Test Board, who was invited to perform touch-and-go's with the Blue Angels. He also served as the project officer for the Mohawk. A friend in Waco once asked him, "Al, what did you fly?" To which Col. Smith responded with a chuckle, "Anything that had wings." Col. Smith, a native of Waco, was born December 12, 1929. He played football for the Waco Tigers from 1946-1948. Col. Smith, an Army bootstrapper, worked during his early military years to earn a degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi. Following active military service, he was a member of several military pilot and officer organizations. During later years and difficult times, Col. Smith found strength in the power and forgiveness of the resurrected Christ, and, as a result of the efforts of Mr. Herbert Harding, he later joined the Horizons class of the First United Methodist Church. Col. Smith left a legacy of work ethic and commitment to duty, honor, and country for his children to follow. He is survived by his dear Lynette; his brother, Ed; and his sister, Viola; three children, Sandra of Baton Rough; Deborah of Waco, and A. Michael of New Jersey; seven grandchildren, Andrew and Samuel; Edward and Smith; Thad, Dominic and Margaret; and three great-grandchildren, Joseph and Jackson, and Baker. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com.